Cray Valley PM top the Isthmian League South East Division by three points after the Easter weekend but boss Steve McKimm knows that nothing is won until the end of the season on April 27th.
Speaking to KSN this week, McKimm told us, “We have had a lot of catching up even though Ramsgate got a round further than us in the FA Cup, we had a lot of replays when they were playing League games.”
“Before Christmas we had four or five games to catch up on, but they have caught up, it’s five games to play and its anyone’s League.”
“There’s still a lot of football to be played; no-one is running away with themselves. I looked at Ben’s (Smith – Ramsgate boss) interview and I’m of the same opinion as him – we’ve both had remarkable seasons and any other time the League would have been won by now.”
“And then you have Sittingbourne sitting in just behind the pair of us waiting to pounce!”
“It has been a remarkable season on all fronts through FA Cup runs, through League victories and I think the League last year was won with 79 points and we have currently got 82.”
“It has just been a crazy season and as I say, whoever wins it deserves it and whoever comes runners-up, even if Sittingbourne come runners-up, it has been great for the three teams fighting it out.”
Before beating Sevenoaks Town on Easter Monday, Valley won 3-2 at Broadbridge Heath last Saturday for their sixteenth away League win and they are now just two games away from having the perfect away record with possibly eighteen wins out of eighteen.
“We’ve done really well,” admitted McKimm with a touch of modesty.
“Winning sixteen out of sixteen and I still remember the first one – it seems like yesterday, but is now a long time ago – away at Sittingbourne when we led 2-0 and then they fought back before Adam Coombes got a last-minute winner!”
“And we’ve just kicked on away from home like that – we’ve had some good performances away as well as at home and we’ve had some scrappy ones, but all we’ve been looking to do is to win as many games as possible and see where that leaves us as I’ve said to KSN many times on the 27th April.”
At the weekend, Valley looks to maintain their slender lead over Ramsgate as they welcome mid-table Burgess Hill Town to the Artic Stadium.
“I doubt if they’re already on their holidays quite yet as we’d like that for every game coming up, but I very much doubt it as Burgess Hill are a very good, young, energetic side with a good management team – Gary Mansell and he’s brought Lewis Taylor back in and they’ve just signed some experience in Jake Goodman (from Folkestone) and so it won’t be an easy game.”
“Speaking to them after the game at their place, where they could have taken the lead twice bar Max (Ovenden) making two really good saves, so that the 4-1 scoreline really didn’t reflect the game, they are looking to build for next season and they have a way of playing, an exciting way of playing with some very young energetic players and it’s going to be one hell of a tough game for us to get anything from.”
“There are going to be more twists and turns in the five games that us and Ramsgate have left and if you just rely on our meeting with them next week, that is a dangerous mistake.”
“They play two games, and we play one before we meet and so it is a case for both of us that we must concentrate on the next game, cliche or not, because that is the most important one.”
“Then when it comes to play Ramsgate next week, we can start preparing and thinking about our trip to Southwood.”
McKimm then confirmed that he hopes to have a near full strength squad after picking up a few niggles over the Easter period.